Agree, especially with the last sentence.

We went in at half time and looked by far the better side but down on the score board.Yes they scored from an interception but the first try the Bulls player was offside.We were our own worst enemy in the second half giving the Bulls easy yards through silly penaltys.Had we made that pressure in the first half into points on the board the outcome would have been vastly different.We need some other players practicing goal kicks to see if we can turn a kicker up.

Can't understand why the ref didn't go to the screen

having had time to reflect on the game, and i have just about decided to wipe it off the planner without watching it, here are my thoughts (if for no other reason than a bit of therapy)

we lost the game in the forwards, as has been alluded to on here many times (lack of size). bradfords pack made the room and time for jeffries to have fun.

IF we are going to play with a small pack, then we need to run down the fringes more.

as for the "key" players....

smith is playing a lot better than many give him credit for
john is not doing enough for me (could be associated to the pack problem), and i have a feeling that him missing the goal kicks is having an effect on his confidence, and for that position you need to be confident.
aiton is going ok

i would give the kicking duties to someone else and give johns one more chance, or alternatively let wood play there and either bring in ellis or have johns on the bench.

OK, not 'crap' but niaive at best. How many times have we beaten 'better sides by playing with control? I would rather we played with some control and won some games and add the 'flair' stuff as we go along, rather than just fling it around and give cheap ball to the opposition.

I'm not advocating a return of JK, and I know we will be better in the long run, but we have to walk before we can run!

I think some of that 'control' will come in time, when the players know each other and their structures better, and start to know instinctively that people will be in the right place at the right time; watching the games from this weekend, the best sides seem to have lots of bodies in motion and the ability to throw passes in certain moves almost without looking - they know the runner or support player will be there so they feel confident in making the pass, or know when not to.

I was disappointed with the second half performance on Saturday, but it didn't look like the type of capitulation we've witnessed for the past couple of seasons; more like frustration and an inability to close out a tight game. For me, the lack of coherence is due to the team being, for all intents and purposes, a brand new one - we're not unlike Widnes in that respect, but with 3 months less to recruit the players we needed.

Pretty much agree with you here. Some of the link up play is great to watch, however too often it goes over the top. The pass from Ainton to Fox is a prime example, unless it was the last tackle? I mentioned earlier the intricate play is done in the wrong area of the field for me which is putting unnecessary pressure on the defence when the ball is spilled. Yet with the try line begging the invention appears to dry up.

I always thought this was a bedding in season and wasn't expecting much and I still feel that way, despite how frustrated I felt on Saturday night. I think John will come good in time, it takes a while for some overseas players to settle so I wouldn't bin him off so soon, however I do think if should be relieved of the kicking duties to allow him to purely concentrate on his game.

I'm willing to stick with John to see if talking the kicking off him helps his general play. The question is who takes over the role? Would it be worth maybe dropping Mellars who hasn't pulled up any trees yet, shifting Cockayne into the centre and bringing Morton onto the wing. Would we gain enough added benefit in him playing the Jamie Foster role if you like?

No, unfortunately, Mortons defence has been found wanting in his last few first team outings.
I cant believe that there is nobody in the starting 13 that cannot kick goals reasonably well. We dont want/ need Johnny Wilkinson, just an 8/10 kicker that we feel confident will bang them over unless thy are within 5 metres of either touchline.

i watched from a box behind the posts (not seen it on TV yet) but my impression was that we passed the ball sideways alot, mainly towards Collis but there were no inside runners or change of angle to hold up the defence. Three or four times Collis got the ball but was running towards touch and was only 5-10 yards from the touchline, effectively taking the winger out of the game and making us really easy to defend. I guess it looks flashy but its just not effective.

We started the game really taking it forward, rather than sideways and were absolutely smashing them in the first 20. Also, Tim Smith needs to get his shirt dirty on occasion - the one time this season he actually throws a dummy the defence might actually take it.

dont panic a couple of half backs a goal kicker field kicker a couple or thre forwards a coach
and all is well

Double post!

Couldn't make the game so watched it yesterday recorded without knowing the score.
At half time I was very pleased with what I saw, some of the most entertaining rugby I have seen probably since 2007. We let in a couple of soft tries and failed to capitalise not just on pressure but also openings that had been made and so went in down. On other days they will stick and we would have been 2 scores plus in front. Can't understand people slagging Aiton, him and Kirmond were excellent.
Then what happened is we were naive and indisciplined in a way that I can't remember seeing. The penalties were not even forced upon us by pressure really just stupidity. Combine that with 3 kicks coming off in that fashion that we probably won't see again all season and we got a very skewed scoreline and most people on here going completely over the top. We played really well in patches and and other than that bizarre 20 minute spell whereby we invited them onto our line successively, were much the better team. Fair play to Bradford they showed balls and composure but i'd rather be us than them at this point irrespective of the score on Saturday.
If anybody has it recorded but hasn't watched it back I urge you to do so, you might change you mind about a few things.

All in all pretty pleased with where we are at the moment, think we will come good as the season progresses.